Arthur Fiedler

Arthur Fiedler (1894 - 1979) was conductor of the Boston Pops from 1930 until his death in 1979. During his time with the ensemble, he made many popular orchestral recordings as well as family and children's records, some of which featured music from Sesame Street. Some of these songs can also be found on an LP of Joe Raposo songs called You Will Be My Music and a reissue CD called Wish Upon a Star.

In addition to commercially released pieces, Fiedler enjoyed playing Sesame material in concert. In 1971, the cast of Sesame Street was invited to Boston Symphony Hall for an episode of Evening at Pops. For this appearance, the maestro stepped aside to let Big Bird conduct the orchestra.

References

In episode 112 of The Muppet Show (and an appearance by the Muppets on Our Place), a Muppet with a balloon head caricatures Fiedler as he conducts an orchestra of balloons, and pops his own head.

The "Hands" episode of Elmo's World features a sequence in which Dorothy imagines Elmo as a conductor, and several members of the orchestra. The signature mustache and white hair hint at a reference to Fiedler's likeness, an image popular in its day as that of the quintessential conductor.